More than a month after a 19-year-old resident of Benque Viejo allegedly confessed to the murder of Canadian Seventh Day Adventist Missionary, Brian Townsend, 64, police are yet to charge the individual.
The reason given by the Officer Commanding the Belmopan Police Formation Assistant Superintendent Sinquest Martinez is that the police have not completed their investigations into the two murders, which is needed before it can be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecution’s office for a directive on charges.
Police do not have a deadline within which to file murder charges since that charge does not come with a statute of limitation.
The young man reportedly confessed in February to the murders of Townsend and Isidoro Bonilla, another Valley of Peace resident who was murdered in his home prior to Townsend’s murder.
The suspect had also led the police to a location where he had hidden items that he allegedly stole from Townsend and Bonilla.
Townsend’s corpse was discovered on Guatemalan territory two days after he went missing from his home.
There was no proof of forced entry, and police believe that Townsend opened his door for his killer(s).
The youth who has allegedly confessed,, is currently serving a prison sentence. This follows a committal warrant for his arrest when he did not meet a court fine for a drug trafficking conviction in 2013.